Shaving with vegetable oil

Hope I've entered this in the right section. I've recently been playing with shavette-type shavers. I've found that even with the utmost care, while they give excellent shaves, they leave my face tender. As an experiment I tried shaving with nothing but vegetable oil and water and the result was a substantial decrease in tenderness while still delivering an excellent shave. My technique was to wash my face with soap and water for a few minutes to hydrate, wipe off the excess water then rub vegetable oil into my skin, wipe a bit of water over the oil and then shave. Has anyone else used a similar technique, or be willing to give it a go and let me know what they think?

puketui41,

If you add a small dollop of shaving cream, and work that into the oil/water on your face, it will emulsify nicely. This makes it easier to see where you have shaved, and makes the whole affair less 'greasy' as it is easier to wash the emulsion off your chops. The lubricity (for me) was un-changed by using the small amount of shaving cream.

You can use other products with the oil if you would like to experiment - KY jelly works very well as it is water based and lubricates well.

Have fun :)

Best regards

Russ

The Romans used olive oil to shave so I don't see why another type of vegtetable oil couldn't be used. Personally I like a bit of tallow in my shaving solution.

I suppose you could use margarine if you had to .

I prefer Acqua Di Parma myself :D

If it works then do it, seems that it would clog pores and it sounds like your technique needs work if your getting the tenderness. Tc

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Originally Posted by JOB15

I suppose you could use margarine if you had to .

I prefer Acqua Di Parma myself :D

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I wouldn't even put it on popcorn. :popcorn:

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Originally Posted by tcrideshd

If it works then do it, seems that it would clog pores and it sounds like your technique needs work if your getting the tenderness. Tc

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Doesn't clog the pores, its the basis for most shave oils. I've used it for years as an after shave treatment with good results. You just take your oil of choice, add your essential oils of choice (tee tree and sandalwood for me) and voila. Thanks for the suggestion about technique, but this isn't my first ride on the swings. I initially thought maybe I was making too many passes, or spending too much time getting those last few bits of stubble, so I cut it down to one good pass, paying attention to only shaving the lather, but still found that a new razor blade would cause some discomfort. Must be my delicate complexion.

I've tried using KY jelly on its own with good results (I had no intention of announcing that publicly, but you've thrown it out there now!), I'll have to try the combination. Do you mix the two together or apply in layers?

There are so many really great oils lout there that are really good for your skin. I have done a few experiments over time with using coconut oil and shea butter, as well as olive oil as pre shave and post shave oils. They all work, the shea butter seemed to get the best results. Those three are the ones recommended most as kin conditioners, also almond oil and grape seed oils are commonly used. All are molecularly small enough to penetrate your skin, where as the vegetable and petroleum oils sit on the skin. I am all for experimenting and finding what works well for you.

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Originally Posted by RezDog

There are so many really great oils lout there that are really good for your skin. I have done a few experiments over time with using coconut oil and shea butter, as well as olive oil as pre shave and post shave oils. They all work, the shea butter seemed to get the best results. Those three are the ones recommended most as kin conditioners, also almond oil and grape seed oils are commonly used. All are molecularly small enough to penetrate your skin, where as the vegetable and petroleum oils sit on the skin. I am all for experimenting and finding what works well for you.

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Sorry, I should have been more specific about the type of oil. When I say vegetable oil I also include oils such as grape seed, almond etc. My usual choices are jojoba and grape seed, although I've also used olive and canola. Canola is the one I used for the shave mentioned, simply because I was close to the kitchen and that's what was on the shelf! My reason for posting the thread though, is to get some feedback on whether others have had similar experiences with oil shaving drastically reducing the harshness of a shave. My theory is that the oil does what oils generally do and reduces friction. We all (I hope) run our cars with oil in the sump, not lather and so it makes sense to me that if you want to stop two surfaces (face and razor) creating excessive friction then the answer would be oil. Thats the theory, what I'm looking for really is empirical evidence. Thanks for the help.

In that case I should tell you the why and results. I was trying to find the path to the perfect shave. Clean, close and comfortable. It was early in my straight razor shaving. I did get good results from using all of the oils I mentioned as far as increased comfort. The liquid oils I found too messy, but the coconut oil and shea butter were so much nicer to use. They performed well for the task and soothed well as post shave treatments. Since then I have tried Proraso and Castle Forbes and cream rinse and Noxema. Noxema is my go to pre shave. It is very cost effective and works as well as any other I have used. It is also not messy and works for post shave if you get irritation. As my skill levels progressed my need for a pre shave did lighten up quite a bit. I do notice that you said as a shaving oil. I trust that you are not lathering after applying them and going straight to shaving. I have tried that twice and i was not a fan of the level of comfort. I currently use Noxema, lather, shave, lather shave, rinse. I have found which way to shave to get all of my whiskers in two passes sometime 2 1/2 and have a close clean and comfortable shave. It is the shave that impresses me and there i stop. Extra passes probably added to my shave irritation along with poor angle and poor skin stretching. Now that i have it dialed into what makes my face happy I do not do a lot of experimenting.

No, I don't lather after the oil. I've tried oil as a pre-shave before, but to me it seems nonsensical. You apply oil and scrub it back off your face with soap and a brush! At best you may end up with some type of emulsion. I too have worked out a routine for close comfortable shaves and don't usually stray from it. The only reason I even tried the oil/ shavette combo was that I was downstairs, wanted to shave and my Tabac stick was upstairs, so I grabbed the cooking oil to get me through. The result was so much smoother than my lather/shavette shaves I thought I'd ask the question. I'll keep experimenting, maybe try two and three passes with a new blade and oil and see if the results are still good. I can't see myself giving up the old Tabac stick, but its good to try new things.

I have tried Olive and Grape oils as a pre-shave with good results. What I don’t like, is it gets all over the place and is messy.

Lately I have been using Trader Joe’s Honey Mango shave cream it contains glycerin and other oils. I rub in a dime size dollop with hot water, while stropping a razor and getting my shave gear ready. Then lather over it with regular cream and brush. Great shaves and a $6 tube last a long time, over a year.

I have heard of people using peanut butter for shaving. My father used to shave with Sunlight soap. Before WW II his parents had hoarded more than they needed during the war.

Like Rezdog, I find Noxema to be a very good pre-shave prep. A jar lasts about 6 months and at $4.79 USD it is very cost effective.

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Originally Posted by rolodave

Like Rezdog, I find Noxema to be a very good pre-shave prep. A jar last me about 6 months and at $4.79 USD it is very cost effective.

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Second this!!!:)
FWIW....Wal-Mart has their own Noxema "knock-off" (Equate) for about HALF the cost of Noxema!!! It's my daily per-shave....and a little goes a LONG way!!;)

Close shaves should SOOTHE ya....NOT SCARE ya!!